By: Natalie Downey
The pandemic completely changed life as we knew it. Social gatherings were limited, increasing the amount of time we stayed at home or spent time with ourselves. With all this free time, consumers turned to online streaming services. Comparing March 2019 to March 2020, the amount of time spent on mobile devices in the US increased 215%. There were increases across the world as well, Italy’s percentage went up 180% and Thailand’s 125%. By June 2020, 48% of US adults had subscribed to one streaming service. Studies are showing that this is not something that is temporary, and that this consumer behavior will remain unchanged in the future. This change will completely reshape how people will be consuming content, and how companies will be advertising it to them.
Research done by Forbes shows that in the next 12 to 18 months, this heavy consumption of
online video and TV will continue. Though restrictions are easing up and there is more to do
socially, it is predicted that media consumption will continue to stay steady. Of course, most
consumers will choose to find other forms of entertainment besides streaming, but their media
consumption hours will not reduce. 41% of US consumers enjoy watching TV even more now
than they did before!
Because of this, offline content consumption will continue to decrease. In the past 10 years,
offline consumption decreased from an average of 13 hours a week to 8.6. So, what does this
mean for companies looking to advertise and reach as many consumers as possible? Avoid
offline advertising, especially if the intended target audience is of the age where they are
consuming media in many different forms every day. Companies who primarily used to advertise using print or in-person methods are going to have to adapt their marketing strategy to reach more customers.
Before the pandemic, marketing used to be all about knowing your customer. Now, it is about
knowing your customer segment and using that knowledge to best reach them. Customer
experience has also become increasingly important. When the pandemic hit, customers expected a lot more out of companies in terms of a digital experience. If a company cannot effectively reach their customer base using digital means, they are missing out.
Companies still must focus on other factors, while keeping technology in the forefront of their
minds. In order for the technology and media to drive results, the company must be organized
and know exactly how they are going to appeal to their customer. As a result of the pandemic,
customers expect that a company has exactly what they want. The experience must be
“frictionless, anticipatory, relevant, and connected”. So, while focusing on marketing and
advertising in the right way, companies must also focus on creating flawless experiences for their consumers.
Transforming the way a business operates as a result of the pandemic can be difficult and
requires a lot of precision and focus. With the necessary steps taken, a company can completely elevate the customer experience they provide and reach more consumers on a more personalized level.